


Each Other's Family

by bonesgadh



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Multi Chapter, Post Season 8, Post-Canon, a bit of angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-30 15:09:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19405825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonesgadh/pseuds/bonesgadh
Summary: Arya is on her way west of Westeros, Gendry is on Storm's End learning how to be a Lord. She misses him, he misses her. Is their love strong enough to survive a painful separation, a dangerous journey and malicious advisors? Will they be able to leave behind what separated them in the first place?Set after the series finale of Game of Thrones.





	Each Other's Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arya prepares to sail west of Westeros. She meets her ship's captain, Elras Blackrow.  
> This is a small chapter but I wanted to test the waters and see if you are interested in seeing what happens next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So this is the first chapter of my post-canon Gendrya story, I really hope you enjoy it. It's mostly Arya and Gendry with a few characters I invented. There will be a bit of Sansa and Bran in future chapters.  
> I apologize in advance for any inaccuracies regarding traveling distances, I did my best to stay true to canon but as you know it's a bit tricky to calculate traveling time in Westeros.  
> I must warn you I write a bit slow because english is not my first language so I have to go through a lot of editing and proofreading. But I already have an outline of the story so hopefully it won't take me long to update it :)

Arya Stark was standing on the dock of King’s Landing staring at the mighty carrack anchored in front of her. It was a magnificent ship, built by rivermen shipwrights. She could perceive the smell of wood in the air and the wind billowed its big sails, which were decorated with the Stark sigil. The sight of the grey direwolf made her heart swell with pride.  
She looked up to the sky. The sun shone bright on King’s Landing that morning. Only three days had passed since the council elected Bran King of the Six Kingdoms, and one since Jon had left for the Wall to join the Night’s Watch once more. Saying goodbye to him had been one of the most painful experiences of her life. Arya didn’t understand why the Watch still existed since there were no White Walkers or wights anymore, and she found Tyrion’s explanation of needing a place to send the banished, poor and unfortunate stupid and illogical.  
Jon had invited her to visit him at Castle Black, but she had refused. Not because she didn’t want to see her brother again, but because she had already made her decision to sail west. For the first time in years she was free to do as she wanted, without the weight of her list crushing her shoulders. She was done killing, done seeking revenge, done hating. She was and always would be Arya Stark of Winterfell. She loved her family more than anything else in the world, and she knew she would eventually return to the North, _her home_ ; but this was something she wanted to do first. To embark on a journey she got to choose for once.  
Arya looked at the men loading the supplies on the ship. Pages, apprentices, sailors and carpenters made up most of her crew, some of whom were volunteers. There was also a steward, a boatswain, a Maester whose name was Tobin Rane, and the ship’s captain and navigator whom she hadn’t met yet. There were a total of 45 people on board including her, and she was the only woman. The large boxes they were carrying were filled with biscuits, wine, salted fish, meat and pork, vinegar, sauerkraut and cheese, besides some fresh fruits and vegetables. They had enough supplies and fresh water for a six-month trip—though Arya was confident they would find land much sooner than that—and they planned to collect a few more at Lannisport, the only planned stop on their way west.  
“Lady Stark?” She heard someone call from behind. She turned and saw a man walking towards her. He had light brown hair, hazel eyes and stubble beard, with slightly tanned skin. He was of medium height and well built, and he immediately reminded Arya of a younger Davos Seaworth. Even his voice sounded similar.  
Once he was a few feet away from her he stopped and smiled. “You are Arya Stark, aren’t you?”  
“I am. Who are you?”  
“Elras Blackrow, your ship’s captain and navigator. Pleasure to meet you, milady.”  
“The pleasure is all mine.” She offered him her hand and he shook it, albeit a bit hesitantly. Arya guessed he wasn’t used to highborns shaking his hand. “Where are you from?”  
“Maidenpool, milady. In the Riverlands.”  
“Oh, what a surprise. My mother was from the Riverlands, too.”  
“I know. She was Lady Catelyn Tully of Riverrun, daughter of Lord Hoster Tully. I saw her once many years ago. I was a young lad and I accompanied my father to an audience with your grandfather. She was a very nice person.”  
“She was.” Arya smiled at the memory of her mother. “I’m glad to know people remember her even years after she died.”  
His face turned grim. “What happened to her and your brother was a tragedy, milady. I know it’s been a while but I offer you my condolences. At least that Frey bastard payed for his crime in the end.”  
Arya shifted her weight from one foot to the other, uncomfortable. “I’d rather not talk about that, it’s a… delicate topic for me.” Thinking about her mother and brother’s murders still saddened her and probably always would.  
“Of course! I’m so sorry, milady, the last thing I wanted was to make you sad,” he said, lowering his head in embarrassment.  
“It’s okay, I’m sure you didn’t mean it.” She began walking through the dock and Elras walked beside her. “Have you been a sailor for long?”  
“Yes, all my life. Mostly merchant ships across the Narrow Sea headed to the Free Cities. I once sailed to Qarth, beyond Dragon's Bay and the Red Waste."  
"I haven't traveled by ship a lot," Arya admitted. "I once went to Braavos and back, and that's all.”  
“Braavos? Forgive me for asking but how did a Stark end up in Braavos?”  
“I was hiding,” she simply said, realizing Elras didn’t need to know about her time in the House of Black and White. “It was after my mother and my brother’s death. I didn’t know if my sister was alive, and going back North wasn’t an option because the Boltons had taken over Winterfell, so I figured the Free Cities were the safest place for me. I lived there for over a year.”  
“Those were difficult times. The war really took a toll on all of us. Thank the gods it’s all over now.”  
“Yeah.” They both looked at the carrack and contemplated it in awe. “It’s a mighty ship.”  
“It definitely is,” Elras said, with pride. “Did you know carracks can stay at sea for six months?”  
“I did, I asked around. Has anyone stayed at sea for that long?”  
“Oh I doubt it, milady. It’s too dangerous.”  
“Because of the plague of the sea?”  
Elras looked at her slightly surprised. “Ah, you have heard about it.”  
“Luwin, the Maester at Winterfell when I was a child, used to tell me and my brothers stories about adventurers and their long journeys around the known world. Of how, sometimes, men would fall ill because of a strange disease sailors call ‘the plague of the sea’,’ which was usually fatal. No one knew how to treat it or what caused it, until Maester Korban Lindel from the Citadel discovered eating fresh fruits and vegetables cured it in a matter of days, and also prevented it from appearing in the first place.”  
“That’s right. Unfortunately sailors can’t carry them in our ships because they spoil very quickly.”  
“True,” Arya said with a smirk. “However, Maester Lindel also discovered some herbs and flowering plants—like parsley, thyme and pine needle tea—could cure the plague as well. And they don’t spoil as quickly as fruits and vegetables. In good conditions they can last for almost a year.”  
“I knew about the pine needle tea but I had no idea about parsley and thyme.”  
“I ordered large amounts of the three of them to be loaded on the ship, just in case.”  
Elras stroked his beard. “Huh, impressive. For someone who has only travelled by ship a couple of times you certainly know a lot.”  
Arya shrugged. “I simply tried to memorize whatever information I considered to be important, nothing else.”  
In that moment, a young man, no older than twenty, approached them. His face was red and sweaty from carrying heavy boxes under the bright sun. “Captain, we have finished loading the ship. We are prepared to set sail as soon as m’lady gives the order.”  
“Thank you, Aurik.” Elras turned to Arya. “Well milady, are you ready to see what’s west of Westeros?”  
Arya’s heart skipped a beat. A part of her still couldn’t believe what was about to happen.  
_You better believe it, Arya. This is real._  
She took a deep breath and smiled, unable to hide her enthusiasm. “I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I created the character of Elras because I didn't like the idea of Arya being lonely in the ship, so I created a friend for her.  
> I did my research on scurvy and how it was the main cause of dead among sailors during the Age of Discovery. This was the trickiest part of writing the first few chapters because lack of Vitamin C can really screw over your body and can even kill you after a while, so I checked these articles to learn about other sources of Vitamin C besides fruits and vegetables:  
> https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-c-foods#section2  
> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3884093/#__sec3title  
> http://www.pbchistoryonline.org/page/what-did-sailors-eat


End file.
